Everyone wants to learn to code these days. It seems to be a skill we're now considering indispensable. But what favors do you do yourself by learning a programming language, really? Sean Blanda, writing for productivity and ideas blog the 99u, suggests learning a simple skill won't help you that much.

If becoming a programmer is appealing to you, great. But seeking employment based on any one "hard skill" is an outdated way of thinking. The rapid evolution of technology forces us to constantly reconsider which hard skills are in demand. (And we should). Staying on top of the hard skills needed is a necessity in the short term, but one of the best ways to position yourself for success in the long term is to focus on the soft skills needed no matter what technology you are working with.

That shouldn't deter you from learning to write code, but so long as you remember what most professional developers already know: you'll be learning to code your entire life. However you engage with technology, it needs to be an ongoing education if you want to have a relevant skill set throughout your life. That may require a bit of work, but I think most lifehackers are eager to learn about new technologies anyway. It usually doesn't feel like work at all.